10 



FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



Continued from page ft, column 2 

 One striking thing about both of the 

 families is that every member has certain 

 duties to perform and everyone knows 

 just what is expected. The boys go at 

 the work just as though they like it. This 

 is an attitude which is altogether too un- 

 common in most young folks. The boys 

 and girls in these families are getting a 

 wonderful training in farming and in 

 business. They are learning at first 

 hand the value of labor. This education 

 will be worth more than they know in the i 

 years to come. 



If you want to see a real farm run by 

 real farmers look up Oscar Belden and 

 Sons of Hatfield. Don't expect to waste 

 their time because they won't let you. 

 But if one can keep his eyes open he can 

 learn a great deal about farming as a 

 business from these men. 



DAIRY MEETINGS HELD 



Importance of Good Roughage in Eco- 

 nomical Milk Production Emphasized 



The fact that dairy farmers are over- 

 looking a chance for profit by not grow- 

 ing more and better hay and silage has 

 been brought out in dairy meetings held 

 in this county this winter. Prof. Warreri ; 

 of Cornell states that "in all studies of 

 farm management the fact is brought out i 

 that crops pay better than cows for the 

 time spent on them." The common malad- | 

 justment in this county is that we have 

 more cows than we have home grown 

 feed. The result is that dairy farmers 

 have little left from the milk check after 

 the grain bill is paid. 



The remedy suggested is to produce 

 more and better roughages on the farms | 

 so that grain bills may be reduced to a 

 reasonable figure. There are three main 

 obstacles to growing more roughage: (1) 

 Unfavorable topography of land; (2) A 

 heritage of inefficient methods; (3) A 

 seriously depleted condition of our soils. 

 Land that is too rough or stony to work 

 will never pay decent wages to the man 

 working it. The inefficient methods of 

 production can be overcome. Take corn 

 production as an example. A man vnth 

 a hoe can till a half acre a day. With a 

 riding cultivator a man cares for five 

 acres a day. The reasons that we have 

 to hoe corn are (1) that the seedbed is 

 not properly prepared; (2) after plant- 

 ing, the field is too rough to use a spike- 

 tooth harrow or weeder without seriously 

 injuring the corn. Fall plowing and 

 thorough discing will make possible a 

 good .seedbed. After the corn is planted 

 the field should be gone over with a plank 

 drag to fill the planter marks and to 

 break up lumps. Even before the corn 

 is up the weeder or spike tooth harrow 

 may be used to kill weed seeds. Allow 

 time between harrowing so that the weed 

 seeds can germinate, then use the weeder 

 before the weeds get rooted. Where 



there is no witch grass a cultivator does 

 not need to be used on the crop and hand 

 hoeing is also unnecessary. 



The major problem is that of soil fer- 

 tility. These are the steps necessary to 

 correct present conditions: (1) Conserva- 

 tion of manure; (2) Use of acid phosphate 

 to balance manure; (3) Use of nitrogenous 

 fertilizers as a top-dressing on the hay 

 crop; (4) Use of lime; (5) Growing of 

 legumes; (6) Use of mixed fertilizers on 

 cash crops. Manure conservation simply 

 means having a tight floor and using 

 enough bedding so as to soak up the liquid 

 portion. Where the cows are kept above 

 a cellar, the tight floor should be in the 

 cellar. The sooner manure is spread 

 after it is made the less the loss will be. 

 Manure is low in phosphoric acid so the 

 use of this material makes the manure go 

 further. On seeding dowm, from three to 

 five hundred pounds of acid phosphate 

 should be used per acre. For corn, 200 

 to 300 pounds per acre in the drill is 

 enough to balance the manure. 



One i-eason that we do not get better 

 clover crops and why alfalfa fails is that 

 the land is too acid for these crops. 

 There is no land in this county that does 

 not need lime for alfalfa and clover. The 

 amount needed per acre depends upon the 

 crop to be grown and upon the acidity 

 of the land. The county agent offered to 

 test soils for lime requirements. All that 

 is necessary is to take samples from five 

 or six places in the field. Mix these to- 

 gether and send in a cupful of this soil 

 to the Extension Service, 59 Main Street, 

 Northampton. 



It is a fact that where manure is con- 

 served, acid phosphate used to balance 

 manure and lime used to correct ex- 

 cessive acidity, clover can be grown 

 with greater success than is usual. In 

 sections where hay occupies the land only 

 two years, these steps are enough to keep 

 up soil fertility. Here hay normally oc- 



cupies the land from six to sixty years. 

 Under our conditions it is of great im- 

 portance that the land be given manure, 

 acid phosphate and lime before seeding 

 down. Then to maintain profitable hay 

 crops the hay land should either be 

 manured in the fall or top dressed in the 

 spring with 100 to 1.50 pounds of nitrate 

 of soda plus 200 to 300 pounds of acid 

 phosphate plus 50 pounds of muriate of 

 potash per acre. Treatment of this kind 

 has resulted in an increased hay crop of 

 from 1500 to 2000 pounds of field cured 

 hay per acre where there is a good sod. 



On some farms that are overstocked 

 for the amount of roughage, the use of 

 emergency hay crops such as soy beans, 

 millet and oats and peas will be found 

 a great help in reducing the cost of milk 

 production. These are but temporary 

 steps and should supplement efforts to get 

 good legume crops. 



In tackling the crop problem the dairy 



RAISE HEALTHY CHICKS! 



CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE 



is valuable for 



Disinfecting Brooder Houses and Yards 



We carry it in powdered form 



Put up in the size package you need 



It is cheaper by the pound 



w 



WISWELL THE DRUGGIST 



52 Main SIreel 



Northampton, - - - Mass. 



CHICHS 



White Leghorns, R. I. Reds 

 Barred Rocks, Wh. Wyandottes 



From officially tested breeders — free 

 from White Diarrhea infection 



Rapid Growth-Early Maturity -High Production 

 100 per cent Live Delivery Guaranteed 



Write for illustrated folder and prices 



HALL bROS., Poplar Hill rarm 



Box IS Wallingford, Conn. 



